CHARLES
HENRY WAKEHAM PARSONS
Lance
Corporal 29224
Charles
Parsons was born in Revelstoke in 1896, the son of Thomas and Jane Parsons, who
lived in Newton Ferrers. Census and
baptism records show many Parsons in the two villages at this time, but there
is nothing to identify this particular family.
Several Parsons were blacksmiths to Lord Revelstoke, and Charles may
have been related to them.
On joining the Army at Devonport he was first assigned
to the Army Service Corps (Official No. S/33210), and then later transferred to
the 7th Battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment. The battalion saw action in France as part of 50th
Brigade in 17th Division, and were in the front line when the German
Spring Offensive began on 21 March 1918. The division had been on
the retreat for ten days, but the German offensive was nearly exhausted. This phase of the offensive is known as the
Battle of Albert.
On 31 March 1918 at 5.30am the battalion attacked a
position captured by the Germans three days earlier. Despite heavy rain, the battalion reached its
objective, but flanking units were held up so the East York’s had to withdraw to their
previous position. Four tanks were
supposed to support them, but they either broke down or were knocked out. Between 21 March and 31 March, the battalion
war diary records a loss of 19 officers and 400 men. One of those killed on 31 March 1918 (Easter Sunday) was Charles Parsons, aged 23.
He is remembered with honour at the Arras Memorial,
Bay 4 and 5.
